Did the catholic church really have to have the Spanish Inquisition to assert their authority?

Question

With the blessing of the Pope

Did they have a different bible back then

Answer 1

Like the old joke says, "It seemed like a good idea, at the time!"

In the period, much before the inquisition, the church was in the lives of virtually everyone in Europe. They were the final authority on everything, including the right of kings to rule.

With the protestant reformation causing people to question the church's right to control everything, the Inquisition might have been seen as a tool to fix what the church saw a problem.

If the promise of eternal salvation was not enough of a carrot to keep people on the straight an narrow, then the rack, the cat o' nine tails, the bloody mary and even the big stick was called upon to show someone the error of his thinking.

It either worked or it didn't and for those it didn't, well, one no longer had to worry about them any longer.

Answer 2

There is a documentary by the BBC/A&E which aired on the History Channel called "The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition":
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain commissioned an investigation or Inquisition, afraid that laws commanding the exile or conversion of Jews were thwarted by conversos, i.e. synagogue-going "Catholics," . They began the Inquisition hoping that religious unity would foster political unity, and other heads of state heralded Spain's labors for the advent of a unified Christendom.
Propaganda against Spain began around 1580, after the Protestant defeat at the Battle of Mühlberg at the hands of Ferdinand's grandson, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
In 1567 a fierce propaganda campaign began with the publication of a Protestant leaflet penned by a supposed Inquisition victim named Montanus.
The propagandists soon created "hooded fiends" who tortured their victims in horrible devices like the knife-filled Iron Maiden (which never was used in Spain).
The BBC/A&E special plainly states a reason for the war of words: the Protestants fought with words because they could not win on the battlefield.

It’s worth pointing out that the medieval world was not the modern world. For medieval people, religion was not something one just did at church. It was their science, philosophy,politics, identity, and their hope for salvation, which they saw as the truth. Heresy, then, struck at the heart of that truth. It doomed the heretic, endangered those near him, and tore apart the fabric of community.

Historians have declared fraudulent a supposed Inquisition document claiming the genocide of millions of heretics.
What is documented is that 3000 to 5000 people died during the Inquisition's 350 year history.
This pales in comparison to the 150,000 documented witch burnings elsewhere in Europe over the same centuries.

One of the most enduring myths of the Inquisition is that it was a tool of oppression imposed on unwilling Europeans by a power-hungry Church. Nothing could be more wrong. In truth, the Inquisition brought order, justice, and compassion to combat rampant secular and popular persecutions of heretics.

From the perspective of secular authorities, heretics were traitors to God and king and therefore deserved death. From the perspective of the Church, however, heretics were lost sheep that had strayed from the flock. As shepherds, the pope and bishops had a duty to bring those sheep back into the fold, just as the Good Shepherd had commanded them. So, while medieval secular leaders were trying to safeguard their kingdoms, the Church was trying to save souls.

The Inquisition provided a means for heretics to escape death and return to the community.
Most people accused of heresy by the medieval Inquisition were either acquitted or their sentence suspended. Those found guilty of grave error were allowed to confess their sin, do penance, and be restored to the Body of Christ.

If anything, kings faulted the Inquisition for being TOO LENIENT on heretics.

Answer 3

If you are really interested in researching this, try to the above poster's link and also the one below. You may find there is a lot more to the inquisitions, the Spanish one, and how the pope and how the monarchy of spain agreed and disagreed on everything.

Answer 4

Yes. As all the inquisitions. Even the head-inquisitor Jacques Fournier was thanked and got elected for pope in 1334 (until 1342): Pope Benedict XII.

Answer 5

No that's a myth-

Here's the latest take on it with article linked...

"The Inquisition was not born out of desire to crush diversity or oppress people; it was rather an attempt to stop unjust executions. Yes, you read that correctly. Heresy was a crime against the state..."

Answer 6

hell yeah, when you need to get the public to toe the line, accept no substitues for Torquemada. all you needed was someone to not like you and mention your name to the inquisition and before you could say "Jesus saves but George Best scores on the rebound", you'll be stretched out on the rack looking at some time in the iron maiden.